A: nice thick pour, creamy beige head that with nice retention and lace.

S: did not smell too great when it was served, but I think the restaurant served it too cold. probably around 40-45 degrees. smelled way more alcoholic than a 11% ABV been should. otherwise, standard coffee and chocolate notes came through, and it smelled much better and richer as the beer warmed.

T&M: first tastes were overwhelmed by alcohol and bitterness, which i didn't expect from a $14 12oz bottle of stout. tastes mellowed nicely as the beer warmed and become much more espresso like by the end. porter-like.

O: for the price there are much better beers out there. while this one did warm up nicely, it didn't offer anything that you can't find in other good stouts or porters.

Smell: i get some dark fruits and roasted candied malts with a undeniable alcohol pad aroma.

Taste: Opens with intense dark over roasted malts and dark fermented grapes. I get a huge boozieness here from the middle to end which subdues the malts and fruit till the finish. Leaving a stale roasted malt aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, medium carbonation, warming and not surprising from the taste.

Drinkability: This is a one and done for me. Maybe with a 6 more months on this, the over roasted malts will mellow out, I recommend this to those seeking a RIS with a roasted malt backbone and dark dark fruit profile with a bunch of heat.

S: Creamy chocolate is strong up front, surrounded by campfire notes and sweet, dark fruits. Little to no hop presence. Ethanol heat is detectable and slightly astringent in the nose.

T: Chocolate has been replaced by smokey barrel notes. Oak and extremely hot alcohol are in the center, followed by a cloyingly sweet finish. Leaves a distinctly unpleasant bitterness on the tongue; likely a result of oak tannins and alcohol, as the hops in this are barely noticeable.

M: Medium-light carbonation, thick and chewy; typical for the style.

O: I'm not going to be able to finish this. Each sip becomes more cloying and hotly alcoholic than the last. While there are certainly a few interesting things going on in here, it feels like I'm drinking a bottle of rubbing alcohol that fell into the fire. This may be worth throwing in the cellar to cool down for a few years, but with so many great (and cheaper) alternatives on the market, why bother?

A friend brought this to a poker game last night, a standard ploy to get others drunk while gambling. 11% ABV, a fine choice for this purpose. I had about 1/3 of the bottle.

It poured dark brown-black with a few fingers of tan head. It looks nice but I didn't really like the aroma, strong roasted malts which smelled a little bitter, also a little alcohol peeking through. Not as complex as I'd hoped in the flavor either, the roasted notes take the lead, with a lasting bitter aftertaste and a noticeable burn.

A strongly alcoholic charred malts creation, not really my cup of tea. Glad for the chance to try it, and I did end up losing some money so I guess it helped the cause.

11.16oz bottle purchased at Jim’s Homebrew in Spokane for $6.74. The label seems to indicate that it’s meant to be consumed by March, 2013. The wording is in Dutch, however, so all bets are off. Speaking of the label, it’s different to the one in the photo on BA.

Poured a viscous looking deep dark brown color that seemed almost a crude oil black. Things became a little browner looking when held up to the light, at which point some floaties could be seen drifting around the edges. Minimal, mocha colored head that quickly receded to a thin collar - not surprising given this beer’s 11% abv.

Initially, there was a big brown sugar aroma. Once things began to warm up, some chocolaty scents emerged as well. What did not seem to emerge were the more bitter elements associated with the style, nor was there any nasal inkling of the high alcohol content.

The taste starts out with the sweet elements noted above. A minor bitterness then makes itself known, but it’s nowhere near adequate for providing any real balance. The taste ends on a very mild dry note at the swallow.

While carbonation is low for the style, don’t expect a heavy, leaden mouthfeel, as things are actually rather watery in that department.

This seems like an incomplete beer, like an unfinished Imperial Stout, or a regular stout that happens to have a huge abv percentage. It's drinkable, but only just, and why would you when there are lots of better examples available?

Pours pitch black with no head. When I take a sniff I could smell chocolate, the alcohol and black licorice. I get no alcohol bite when I take a sip which is something I'd expect from a beer with 11% ABV, I also get the black licorice upfront when I sip. All in all a very mellow stout from a part of the world where I don't get beers from that much.

Has a big dense head of brown foam over a black body, head stays a bit before dropping out of the picture. No real legs on this one dispite being a hefty weight stout, the viscosity isn't really there on looks.
The aroma has roasted malts and chocolate malts doing a little dance.
Flavors are pretty balanced between dark chocolate bitterness and sweeter malts and milk chocolate and vanilla sweetness, the roasted malts give that espresso character and it finishes really dry in the end, a clean imperial for sure. didnt really notice the oak that it is aged on much, only for 2 months so more then likely it just rounded out some from it. Wanted more viscosity like i do with every stout though.

$5 a 12oz bottle at Binny's. Good for the try, i enjoyed it and think it's solid. Glad it comes in 12oz cuz that has been all i drink lately. If you are a RIS type of guy def give it a whirl.
*my bottle looks differant, and is purple with a building on it.

33 cl. bottle.
This beer, allthough ok aroma, is just a bit too simple. The alcohol doesn't get covered enough.

Light brown head on a very dark brown beer.
Smell and taste of clear roasted malts and nutts character. Some espresso coffee and dark chocolate. Some spice.
A lot of liquorice aroma/flavour in this particular beer. Not much to my liking.

Aromas are centered around dark roasted grains, molasses, some dark fruits and roasted candied malts with a undeniable alcohol whiff in the end.

The taste opens with extreme dark roasted java and dark fruit malts. Roast, roast, roast. I get a huge boozieness here from the middle to end which it a bit offsetting. I wish I aged this a little longer before sampling, but the intense roasted maltiness makes me feel like this will always be slightly unbalanced. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with medium carbonation, overly warm.

This is a serious beer indeed. Honestly I enjoyed the Winterbier heads and tails over this offering but it is really not fair to compare the two. This beer definitely needs some time on the back-burner to reach it's maximum potential, but I still question it's ability to balance itself because it is extremely heavy on the roasted grains and even if the alcohol subsides I think the bitterness from the roasted grains still may be too overpowering.

The beers pours a dark roast coffee color, no real head comes to life, just sparse little bubbles clinging to the edge of the glass. Agitating the beer brings a little life to the beer, but it quickly falls down.

The nose is very rich with dark chocolate and anise, a real creamy sweetness is present. With more agitation comes a little cool booziness and even brings hints of coffee around. But this time some of the flecks of head have started holding to the glass.

The beer feels alive up front with light carbonation but quickly smoothes out into a wonderfully creamy texture and semi-full mouthfeel. The body is between medium and full; there is now a little caramel coming through. The finish hangs a little with coffee on the palate and an interesting (hop?) bitterness. It's certainly very warming and changing with each sip. I would say this beer is worth a go if you come across it but I wouldn't be cashing in any favors to get it.